Family Time

The hall that Drem had reconstructed out of a momentary whim to sit higher than the stage could not be repaired by any visiting Alchemist or Alkahestrist. It was a mark on the royal hall that could not be wiped clean, instead, the Throne had been moved to its peak and the stairs and platform were garnished with traditional Xingese ornamentation to appear as if they were natural despite not matching the rest of the architecture and being quite crude in some places.

That is to say, the throne now faces West instead of North.

The Emperor himself had called another meeting of the clans. All attempts to infiltrate the Roaring Dragon Sect upon Mt. Tai were fruitless. Single agents without any history with the crown, offered a handsome sum to bring information out of the mountain after a period of study, still had no luck in being recruited. Crown loyalists, spies, randomly recruited attempters, and anyone else they had approached with even a smidgen of an offer had not penetrated a single inch into the Sect. For all the royals knew, it could be a dance studio in there and not a Sect. If only.

His attempt to find an avenue to immortality through the Sect wasn't his only concern. The maps were changing.

The territory next to the Chang clan was middling at best, but it was still a sizeable clan. Enough arable land and merchant activity to ensure the city wouldn't turn to dust unless god intended. But perhaps he did, because a much more sizeable land with no arable fields suddenly grew to be the safest and most vivid example of untapped potential and increased reputation the nation had seen in centuries. Farmers moved, so did the merchants, and so did the entertainers, and so did the martial artists especially, until the only people left were loyalists, retainers, and traditionalists who had history with the land.

With only 40% of their volume left, they would've survived even with the decreased taxes. They, like any other royal, kept quite a few assets close to the chest. Were it not for a sudden upheaval.

A young and disowned relative of the once mighty clan arrived and bet his life, along with a number of assets that he couldn't have possibly acquired by merit, that he could defeat the current patriarch and the heir apparent back to back in single combat.

What did he ask to bet against? Well, the Clan Patriarchy, of course.

When reading this information, the Emperor found it no surprise that the prodigal son exhibited abilities only seen before in members of the Roaring Dragon Sect. What did surprise him was that he hadn't received this information until it was two weeks too late for him to lift a finger.

'Anyone who called this a sign of the times changing would be called an alarmist now, but that monster will have this country in his grip in less than a century.'

Men and women of the royal remaining 48 clans and the 2 Dragon States (A nickname he had given them) that had not officially seceded arrived and sat before their emperor, now 91 years old and incapable of caring that the nation which fed him every luxury and granted him every right would soon fall to another.

'The Dragon States are doing well anyway. I hear he diverted a whole fucking river through it from the south. I have only one wish left, and anyone who can grant it to me can have this nation whose name will soon change. May they have a long reign! Hahahaha!'

"Sons and daughters of the Xing Empire! Hear me! Bring me the secret to immortality, and you may have my throne!"

In the back row, Ling, now a whole foot taller with muscles much more defined and tightly packed like numerous fish scales along his ribs and abdomen, scoffed lightly.

"Are you going to do it, big brother?" May tugged at the hem of Ling's luxuriously embroidered sleeve.

Ling's age and talent, along with the burden of his clan's future, made sure he passed May in power and ability in short order. The hierarchy had been reversed, but the only difference in actual behavior was the way she called him Big Brother as a sign of respect. Ling is very protective of her as a younger sibling figure, but respectful of her skills in Alka and martial arts.

"I don't need to. The Emperor probably thinks there are only 2 Dragon States, but I am the heir to one of the six and my people are more prosperous than ever." He said matter of factly.

May Chang let a smallish smile curl across her still childish and adorable cheeks. "But you will anyway, won't you?"

Ling flashed a lopsided grin, his eyes coming open just a little from excitement. "Of course. I and my Ling clan will gain that Throne and this nation will be covered in the Dragon's Luck far sooner."

May covered her face with her sleeve and laughed like a boisterous yet elegant noblewoman. "Then we'll be opponents, Brother! Though I'm not sure how I feel about handing it over to our neglectful father."

"As long as he dusts off the throne and leaves properly, I don't care what he does for his eternity."

█ ✪ ████ ✪ ████ ✪ █

"HHHNNNNNNRRRRRRRRRRNNNNNNRRRRNNNNGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH"

A blonde girl with a sleeveless vest and a backward cap that put her ponytail behind her and kept the hair out her face, stuck her tongue out involuntarily as she tried using her Teigu's wires to spin a single screwdriver.

A blonde boy with golden eyes, the one with the arm the screw was attached to, watched Winry's concentrated face with a stupid smirk and eyes that were soft as butter.

Winry went to one side of Ed while thinking that if she rotated it like the belt on her sander, maybe it would come loose. She tightened her wires around the screwdriver with telekinetic prowess before letting her rip, then looked over and Ed's soft and dreamy expression and lost focus.

*VVVVVVFEEEWWWWWW*

Her wires lost a little traction and instead of holding it tightly to try spinning it, sawed right through the screwdriver before coming loose and letting her drop as the wires flew toward her.

Before Winry fell on her ass, Ed caught the small of her back with his organic arm and stopped the wires with his metal one as they wrapped taut around it.

Ed's expression was stern from adrenaline, but quickly softened once more as he looked at his childhood crush and flashed an awkward grin. Winry couldn't hide the heat coming from her face, and she knew it.

'There's no way I would lose control of the Teigu long enough for it to hurt me, and it wouldn't hurt me anyway... but he doesn't need to know that.'

"HRRRNNHMMMM!"

Patient #2, Alphonse the Earthquake Elric, was sitting in the 'barber-shop' posture chair with his legs crossed and his nose in a magazine. "If every screw you loosen requires this much romance I'm gonna look for a new mechanic."

Ed picked her up without further ado and a small giggle while Winry shook her head. "I would, Al, but this screw is holding the scale skin into the frame. It's too tight, I thought I could do it without Ally but I was wrong."

"Ed! Al!"

"Aunty Ally!" They called out.

A woman with blonde hair and neon blue eyes like lanterns arrived through the garage door. She was wearing a similar outfit to Winry, wearing a leather vest over a white v-neck, denim bottoms and leather boots, a pair of gold-rimmed shades, and a nightingale hairpin.

"I was wondering why you closed up shop, Win. Turns out our favorite VIPs were in the shop! What's up with this atmosphere? I'm seeing pink..."

"Aha, what's up, Aunty? We were just trying to get the scale skin off the frame to check the inside," Winry informed her while brushing her hair around her ear.

"Oh, did I put some elbow grease into it again?" Ally raised her hand and the screwdriver on the ground flew to it and was transmuted into a whole instead of bisected parts in a flash. She approached Ed who sat down again, raised the screwdriver between her thumb, index, and middle finger like she was removing a loose screw, and twisted it out with the exact same motion.

"*Cough, cough*" Ed snorted and choked on his spit.

"...Haaaa..." Winry sighed.

"What are you doing this for, anyway? There shouldn't be a problem?"

"I'm just checking the internals. You know how they like to blast Alchemy through their automail, something may have gotten fried and they should get it fixed before they leave again."

"...Uh huh... I suggest a date next time, it's a more productive way to waste time." Ally walked through to the house and dropped a live grenade. Ed and Winry's heads exploded in the aftermath.

"What, I don't need a checkup?" Al peeked his head over.

"I AM A MECHANIC! I REFUSE TO LET YOU BOTH GO FOREVER WITHOUT A CHECK-UP! IT'S BEEN A WHOLE YEAR, DAMNIT!" Winry's head was still steaming, but this seemed like a genuine feeling.

Al puckered his face, nodded his head, and went back to his magazine. Ed tossed the idea around in his head and realized she may have missed these moments more than she let on. He let her continue her work in silence. The scaled sleeve came off and she got a good look at the internals, nothing seemed to be shorting while several of the parts were covered in runes.

"They seem to be working, though I was only taught the basics and signs of life in these formations before my head exploded. Yuri and they are really good at this mystical crap. As for everything else, it seems you hit a few things. How's the suspension? Any stress on your shoulder or shoulder blade?"

"Nothing I'm not fully capable of handling. I'm strong, you know?"

"I know... how's the weight? Joint movement? Impact dispersion? Length and size?"

"If you try to upgrade it anymore it might walk away on its own, ya know?"

Winry seemed to smile brighter at this. "Then I'd make you a new one and we can do it all over again, right?" She reached over and grasped his metal fingers.

"...We... I was gone for too long this time...wasn't I?"

Winry smiled weakly and nodded. "Come back more often, so I can fix you of course."

"I can't feel your hand, that's the thing that needs fixing the most."

"Maybe I can fix that in the future... in the meantime..." Winry reached across and met Ed's other hand which rose to meet hers, gently overlapping the fingers.

Al let a small smile escape and tried to stay as still as possible.

"Yeah, that'll do for now. I really should come back more often..."

Consciously and painfully slowly the two craned their necks towards each other, locking their targets and closing their eyes as they felt their shortening breaths getting closer and closer.

*BONK!*

A fist met both the heads of the adolescent crushes and they doubled over.

"I look after your pie for a moment and I come back to see you about to take poor Ed's first kiss? How shameless!"

Al bolted out of his chair. "Winry's Apple Pie?" and then went to the main house which led to the kitchen at a pace that was just a little undignified.

Disgruntled, they turned and saw Yuri in an apron that said "May I suggest the bratwurst?" with a finger on a gloved hand pointing down... They frowned at him and looked back up. "Right, children on board." He snapped and it burst into flames.

"Oh, right, the pie!" Winry panicked, she had put that pie in before the boys came to visit.

"Relax, I have saved the day! And made two more pies. Come get it when you're ready!" Yuri turned around and opened the door before returning to Ally and Toni who were already having some. "Oh, and don't take her first kiss before your first date, Eddy," He said in a harmonic tease yet sounding fully serious. The three of them made their way over to eat while Ed and Win were once again caught in awkward silence and burning slightly.

"Come to think of it, my automail might be shorter than my other arm."

"You're dreaming, shrimp. Stop trying to grow more," Toni pointed a fork at Ed and smiled while she chewed. "It's good to see you two again, by the way."

"Who you callin' a shrimp! I'm almost as tall as your freaky ass!"

"It's good seeing you too, Aunty. What have you been doing?" Al interrupted.

"Oh, you know, learning a few tricks," Toni blew in his direction and his eyes grew blank before he instantly passed out and fell face first into his plate, still full.

'If I didn't know what Intent was or have enough energy to resist, that's a surefire move even on me.' Yuri pondered.

"How did you do that?!"

"Trade secret. He'll be up soon."

"I can do one too!" Ally also pretended that blowing was part of the gimmick and blew towards Ed's buried face. Underneath him, the ceramic plate shifted along with the pie on top of it, forming to his face perfectly and filling every groove from his jaw to the back of his head.

'The Intents are so vague, to Dream and to Shape? It's like they're putting their hobbies onto the world.'

Ed whipped his head up and started coughing while a syrupy apple sauce was in his mouth and on his face, but he couldn't see. He felt his face with his hands. "AAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!!"

After several minutes spent in silent indulgence, Yuri broke through the air.

"I have something I want to show you two in a few days, we won't be gone for long though."

"Another mission?"

"Not for you. We're going to be visiting a certain man. All of us."

The young trio looked across to the other slightly older trio and found that Toni's eyes were burning red, Yuri's eyes were burning gold, and Ally's eyes were burning blue, unlike any intensity those three had seen yet.

"A man named Shou Tucker."